Apparatus for grading fibrous material and separating dust therefrom.



No. 869,742. A PATENTED OCT. 29, 1907.

. E. sLADE & J. B. GLBARIHUE.

APPARATUS FOR GRADING FIBRIOUS MATERIAL AND SEPARATING DUST THEREFROM.-

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 19 1906.

Y/W'Znassas Invamiars WW, I Eduard Slade.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

EDWARD SLADE AND JOSEFH BREMNER CLEARIHUE, OF BLACK LAKE, QUEBEC,CANADA.

Nofseama Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 29, 1907.

Application filed Maw 19. 1906- Serial NO. 317685- To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD SLADE and JOSEPH BREMNER CLEARIHUE, both ofthe town of Black Lake, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion ofCanada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatusfor Grading Fibrous Material and Separating Dust Therefrom, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

Our invention relates to a device for grading fibrous material andseparating dust therefrom, and is particularly adapted to be used in thetreatment of asbestos fiber. It has heretofore been found impossible tocompletely separate from the fiber the powdery dust contained in thematerial, and, as this dust has a very injurious effect on the adhesivequality of the fiber, it is most important that it should be removed.Furthermore, the apparatus at present in use for grading and combing thefiber is not only expensive to install and operate, but has a tendencyto destroy the quality of the fiber by unduly working or machining same.

The object of our invention is to provide a simple and inexpensivedevice that will not only eliminate a great part of the costly andunsatisfactory apparatus at pres ent in use for treating the fiber butwill completely separate the dust or powder from the material, and, atthe same time, grade the fiber to thereby obtain a more evenly gradedand valuable product than has been possible heretofore.

A further object is to provide means for successfully treating the lowergrade of fiber that has formerly been considered practically valueless.

A still further object is to effect a large reduction in the motivepower required for operating the plant.

Further objects and advantages will appear from the followingdescription and from the drawings which illustrate our invention, and inwhich,

Figure 1 is an elevation of the preferred form of our apparatus. Fig. 2is an elevation at right angles to Fig. 1, showing one of the blowers.Fig. 3 is a half plan view of the device.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a cylindrical chamber consistingof a wire screen of any suitable mesh, having a partial cover 2 which isannular in form and through which passes a pipe 3. The pipe 3, which isapproximately half the diameter of the chamber 1, extends downwardlyinto the interior of said chamber a suitable distance so that an annularspace is left at the top of the cylinder between the pipe and the wallof the chamber. The lower end of the chamber is provided with a conicalbottom of sheet metal or similar material having an opening 5 in theapex thereof adapted to discharge the fiber from the chamber. Near thetop of the chamber are one or more inlet apertures 6 connected with thedischarge end of a blower or rotary fan 8 by means of the pipes 7. Theblower pipes 7 are directed into the upper end of the chamber 1 in atangential direction, so that the contents of said pipes will bedischarged into the annular space above referred to, between the bottomof the pipe 3 and the cover of the chamber.

In order to prevent the wire mesh from clogging with fiber and dust, weemploy a plurality of mechanical beaters, which are actuated from thedriving shaft 9 by means of the eccentrics 10, eccentric rods 11, andpivoted rockers 12. The rockers 12 are pivoted at their centers 14 andare provided at their ends with slots 13 to allow for the are or.travel. Parallel rods 15 are attached to the ends of the rockers 12 bymeans of the pins 16 engaging in the slots 13. Each of the rods 15 isprovided with pins 19 which engage in slots 18 in the outer extremitiesof the beater levers 17. The levers 17, which are preferably of springsteel, are pivoted at 20, and carry on their free extremities theheaters 21, which are made of rubber or other suitablematerial.

The operation of our device is as follows :The rock asbestos, havingbeen passed through a series of crushers and sufficiently ground, iscarried to the blowers 8 which travel at a high velocity and dischargethe fibrous material through the inlets 6 into the chamber 1. Thematerial enters the cylinder, tangentially, near the top, at a high rateof speed, and is forced around the circumference, traveling downwardlyin a spiral direction. The lighter particles of dust are carried offthrough the pipe 3, but a large percentage of dust, together with theshorter grade of fiber, passes through the wire mesh and is collected inthe chamber which surrounds the apparatus. The mechanical heaters abovedescribed are constantly hammering upon the wall of the cylinder andserve to keep the mesh open and free from clogging. The longer andheavier grade of fiber falls to the bottom and is carried off throughthe lower aperture onto an ordinary vibrating screen which separatesfrom it any gritty substances that have not passed through mesh of thecylinder. The dust being entirely removed, this grade of fiber will beready for the market without further handling or working. The shortergrade of fiber, which has passed through the mesh of the cylinder, canthen be treated in exactly the same manner by means of a cylindricalscreen of closer mesh. It will be obvious that by means of thisapparatus all the dust or powder will be completely removed, and, at thesame time the fiber will be graded without wasting or deratus it will beunderstood that we do not wish to limit our invention to cylindricalscreens, but reserve the right to use screens or perforated sheets ofany form extending tange whatever. It'will also be obvious that othermeans than the mechanical beaters herein described may be used forpreventing the mesh from clogging. Further- '*more, this apparatus maybe used in grading and. cleaning various other materials besidesasbestos fiber.

Having thus described our invention so that the same may be readilyunderstood by those skilledin the art to which it appertains, what weclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. In a device for grading and cleaning fibrous material,

; a cylindrical chamber having perforated walls and provided with adischarge aperture at the bottom and a vent pipe at the top, means fordischarging the fibrous material tangentially into said chamber, andmeans for vibrating said chamber to prevent the mesh from clogging.

2. In a device for grading and cleaning fiber, a cylindrical chamberhaving perforated walls and a discharge aperture at the bottom, acentral interior vent pipe extending downwardly into said chamber, aplurality of pip es ;ially into said chamber, and a heater to preventclogging of the perforated device adapted Wall. I,

3. In a device flfor grading and cleaning fiber, a cylindrical chamberhaving perforated walls and provided with a discharge aperture at thebottom and a centrally located vent pipe extending downwardly from thetop of said chamber, means for vibrating said chamber to prevent theperforated walls fromclogging, inlet pipes extending tangentially intosaid chamber, and means for discharging the fibrous material at a highvelocity through said inlet pipe and obliquely againstthe interior wallsof said chamber.

4. In a deviceifor grading and cleaning fibrous material, thecombination with a cylindrical chamber having perforated walls andprovided with a conical discharge aperture at the bottom and a centrallylocated vent pipe extending downwardly from the top of said chamber, ofa plurality of eccentrically actuated'beaters, a plurality of inletpipes extending tangentially into said chamber, and blowers connectedwitlrsaid inlet pipes adapted to discharge the fibrous material at ahigh velocity against the perforated Walls of the chamber.

In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of twoWitnesses.

EDWARD SLADE. JOSEPH BREMNER CLEARIHUE.

Witnesses A. JoNcAs, G. W. BERLAST.

